Courting Miss Weasley
By Pam-Pam-Kitten
Disclaimer: Everything relating to Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling, I wouldn't even bother trying to convince you I'm good old JK...I doubt you'd believe me if I did.
It was Friday afternoon and with classes over for the day the mood in the great hall was one of relaxation and joy, students from all four houses were happy with the knowledge that for at least one evening they wouldn't have to worry about homework. Very few students actually studied on a Friday evening, even Head Girl and obsessive student Hermione Granger would allow a few hours out of her schedule to sit in the Gryffindor common room and chat with her friends or even play a game of wizard's chess.
In the Slytherin house it was tradition for the upper students to gather in groups to chat, discuss recent events in the wizarding world and most importantly drink copious amounts of Firewhiskey which usually led to the conversation turning to girls and their assets, at least for the boys it did Pansy Parkinson had commented with a sneer that she wasn't the slightest bit interested in whose cup size was bigger, nor would she reveal her own, not for all the gold in Gringotts. So the male students were left alone to drink and talk and they were quite happy with that, who wanted girls ruining their fun?
Blaise Zabini sipped his drink slowly savouring the rich liquid as it slipped down his throat, if asked to describe the drink he would have called it 'smooth' and it was true, Firewhiskey was expensive especially the vintage he enjoyed drinking, to call it aged would be a lie it was more along the lines of ancient. Not that he was an expert in such things, but he did know that keeping it stored for a very long time made it better and he wouldn't have been a Zabini if he didn't appreciate the finer things in life.
He was currently sat with a few of his house mates around the fire in Head Boy, Draco Malfoy's private room, it was common knowledge that Draco had failed to murder Dumbledore and it quite astounded him that not only had McGonagall allowed him to come back to school she had made him Head Boy in the process. Somewhere in the back of his mind a small voice mused that perhaps she knew something the others were not aware of, perhaps Draco was not the Death Eater he claimed to be, or perhaps he had her under the Imperious Curse that was always a possibility but McGonagall was a tough old bird and it was highly unlikely that even Draco, who was an excellent student, could control her. The young man in question was leaning against the fire place staring into the flames as he downed his fifth glass of whiskey and imperiously ordered Goyle to 'fill her up' like most young men Blaise could be blind to what was staring him in the face but even he could see something was wrong with his friend, shrugging it off as something to do with Voldemort he finished his own glass and set it aside to be re-filled.
Personally he found Voldemort to be a sad old man who would inevitably be killed by Potter and his little band of merry men. Why he had a vendetta against muggles and muggle born students was well known but Blaise found his story a little trite. So he'd had a miserable childhood, boohoo, a lot of students had grown up with parents who either abused them or ignored them but you didn't see them becoming the next dark lord (or lady) and killing all muggles. It was well known that Potter's own upbringing had been more than a little bit miserable with rumour having it that he'd slept in a cupboard under his stairs for the first eleven years of his life but as far as Blaise could see he was perfectly normal, ignoring the whole Boy Who Was Destined to Kill Voldemort thing.
"Galleon for your thoughts Draco?" He knew the common currency for thoughts was a Knut but he had standards and in the Slytherin House the price of knowledge was a high one indeed. Draco looked up and Blaise noted his friend was looking a little flushed; obviously he was more than just a little tipsy,
"Life sucks."
"You hit the muggle on the head with that comment old pal." Blaise said with a smirk, Draco sighed and downed his sixth glass of whiskey in one go,
"Everybody expects me to just shag and dump, shag and dump but I wanna girl I can talk with." Blaise raised an eyebrow curiously, why the normally close lipped young man had decided to spill the beans on all his romantic ideals was beyond him it was certainly unlike him, without saying a word he waited for Draco to continue, "I want somebody I can love and I don't want to find myself in ten years married to some bint I can't stand whose only purpose in life is to provide me with an heir and be the perfect Malfoy trophy bride."
"So find your perfect woman Draco, don't just settle for what your family wants, one day you're going to be lord of Malfoy manor, surely the lady of the manor should be somebody you can connect with." Draco shrugged and once more sighed, struck with an idea Blaise stood up and strode to the desk in the far end of the room, opening a drawer he pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and grabbed a bottle of ink from the shelf above the desk. Sitting back down he said commandingly, "Okay old chum, you give me your perfect woman and I'll draw her." Draco looked at him blankly and Blaise sighed, "What do you want her to look like?"
"Pretty."
"Well of course, but surely you have something more in mind than just pretty, do you have any features you prefer a woman to have?"
"Like boobs." Goyle interjected and Blaise sighed,
"As crude as Goyle's observation is that's roughly what I was thinking, only lets just stick with facial features for now." Realisation dawned and Draco chewed his lower lip thoughtfully,
"I want a woman with big brown eyes, I like the colour brown, she should have a cute nose and pouty lips and a heart shaped face and don't forget long hair, that curls or bounces hair I can touch and it will feel silky. She should have a beautiful smile and she should have a laugh that is infectious she should always laugh, I want a woman who laughs." Draco sighed and took a swig straight from the bottle, Blaise shrugged and then grinned cheekily,
"That mate sounds like Gin."
"The muggle drink?"
"No Draco, not the muggle drink, Gin, as in Ginny, as in Ginevra Weasley." Draco looked disgusted and marched over to where Blaise was sat with his parchment and quill, grabbing the parchment he looked at it closely,
"It looks nothing like her."
"Do you even know what she looks like?"
"Of course I do and that looks nothing like her." Smirking Blaise shrugged,
"You asked for those features and that gives you Ginevra Weasley you have to admit she's beautiful."
"She's a Weasley."
"She's a pureblood witch with a killer sense of a humour and a brilliant mind." Throwing up his arms Draco slid onto the floor, somehow he managed to look graceful as he did it,
"She's a Weasley."
"She fits the description and you know you wouldn't get bored of her easily."
"She's a Weasley." Draco said for the third time and Blaise laughed,
"Close your eyes mate and picture her in your mind, picture the curves and the endless legs, remember the way her bright red hair curls around her middle back and bounces as she walks, picture the pouty lips and the large dark eyes, the cute nose and the smattering of freckles that are adorable but sexy at the same time…now, forget she's a Weasley." With a groan Draco opened his eyes and stared down at the picture in his hands,
"Fuck." With a delighted laugh Blaise clapped his hands together ignoring the ink that now covered his left hand,
"See now, wasn't that easy?"
Oblivious that she was currently the centre of attention in the Slytherin house Ginevra Weasley or Ginny to her friends was sat in the Gryffindor common room reading a book and enjoying her evening of relaxation. The day had been a particularly nice one; Harry had sent her a letter that morning and had promised that he would be at The Burrow for Christmas, something her mother would be thrilled about, an essay she'd spent hours on for Potions had received an Outstanding and she'd finally finished knitting the jumper she'd spent what felt like a million years creating. She was especially proud of the jumper as it was the first jumper she'd ever finished without help, emerald green, the shade of Harry's eyes, it was long reaching past her bum but was slim fitting so it didn't look bulky, she'd already received several compliments from various people on how much it suited her. With a sigh of contentment she turned the page in the book and carried on reading, forcing her mind to stop thinking about a certain Boy Who Lived and back to the world of Hartford and the life of an interfering heiress named Emma. Being used to muggle novels as Hermione had lent her a lot she was beginning to get used to the characters solving their problems without magic, though she had to admit, it would have been a lot easier if Emma could have cast a tickling charm on her brother-in-law when he was poking fun instead of having to rely on a sharp tongue and even sharper wit.
"Hullo Gin." Looking up Ginny smiled at Neville Longbottom and invited him to sit with her; the seventh year student sat down gratefully and glanced at the book she was reading, "Another muggle novel? Gran always said they rot your brain." Ginny tactfully kept her thoughts quiet on what Neville's Gran could do with her opinion and instead smiled sweetly,
"They're fascinating insights into muggle England in the early eighteen hundreds." Neville could only shrug and Ginny sighed, "Never mind Neville, so what can I do you for?"
"What?" With another sigh Ginny said patiently,
"What can I do for you?"
"Oh right, I was wondering if you and Luna was going to be going to Hogsmeade next weekend?" Ginny nodded and Neville smiled, "Mind if I join you, I was going to go with Dean but he asked Parvati so I didn't want to intrude."
"That's okay Neville, so it'll be you; me, Luna, Colin and I said we'd have lunch with Blaise." Neville turned pink and squeaked nervously,
"Blaise Zabini? As in Malfoy's crony?"
"He's a perfectly nice guy if you get to know him."
"How well do you know him?" Ginny rolled her eyes; she'd gotten enough of the interrogation from Ron without Neville starting too,
"We study together occasionally, he's just a friend but he's a really nice guy and he's nothing like Malfoy." Neville didn't look convinced but then again neither had Ron, "Please Neville just give him a chance."
"Alright Gin, I'll try." Smiling Ginny said in a hushed tone,
"Besides, I don't have to worry about unwanted advances I think he has a little crush on our Head Girl."
"Hermione?" Neville squeaked and Ginny laughed,
"I know, isn't it outrageous?"
"But she'd never be seen dead with a Slytherin!"
"Maybe she's more open minded than my brother and Harry, she did say that there should be more unity within the four houses, wasn't it just last week she was talking with McGonagall about a communal common room for those who want to meet up with friends but don't have anywhere to go?" Neville wrinkled his nose and Ginny sighed, "Well I think it's a good idea, I'd love to be able to meet Luna in a nice warm room instead of having to wander the draughty halls looking for somewhere where we won't die of hypothermia."
"There's always the library."
"And have Madame Pince glaring at us for talking loudly, I think not." Folding her arms across her chest Ginny raised an eyebrow at Neville and he sighed,
"Alright maybe it is a good idea but I doubt the Slytherin's would go for it."
"You never know Neville; they're not all Death Eaters." Neville blanched at the idea of Death Eaters and Ginny smiled apologetically she hadn't meant to remind him of his parents situation, she'd often thought that between Harry and Neville Harry had it quite easy, at least his parents were dead, Frank and Alice Longbottom were alive but couldn't remember their own son, something Neville would have to live with for the rest of his life.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk." He murmured and Ginny watched him leave, a feeling of guilt worming through her stomach, she honestly hadn't meant to upset him.
Luna Lovegood hummed as she hunted through her trunk for her Charms text book once again it was missing and this time she really did need it, Professor Flitwick had requested a four foot essay on charms to defend due in Monday and she really could do without her book disappearing. Sat cross legged on her bed her room mate Lauren Gould smirked and said in her most innocent tone,
"Missing something Looney?"
"Yes actually, my Charms text book has disappeared."
"Oh how dreadful, I do hope you don't need it urgently." Luna rolled her eyes, of course she needed it urgently as Lauren very well knew, they were in the same class together which was probably why she had hidden it, knowing full well that Luna would have to spend hours in the library when she could have written it in the comfort and warmth of the common room.
"No, it's not urgent." Lauren's smirk faded slightly and Luna smiled her most disarming smile, "I'm sure Professor Flitwick would understand when I explain that somebody has stolen my book." Turning red Lauren hissed,
"I hope you're not implying anything!"
"Whatever would I imply?" Jumping off her bed Lauren stormed off and returned minutes later with the book,
"I remember now, I saw Sally Davies borrow it how silly of me to have forgotten."
"Thank you for retrieving it for me that was most kind." Picking up her bag filled with parchment, quills and ink Luna skipped out of the room and only laughed when she was in the safety of the common room, around her people looked up in surprise and Luna ignored them, she was all too aware of their opinion that she was crazy and wasn't about to change their minds any time soon. Dipping her quill into the ink pot she paused thoughtfully, people often saw her only for her eccentric persona and seemed to forget that she was a Ravenclaw for a reason, she might have vastly differing opinions when it came to mythological creatures but she was smart and when forced could out think her housemates quite easily.
Humming Luna wrote the first sentence of her essay and cheerfully flipped through the pages of her text book.
Hermione had just finished writing a very long and in-depth letter to Harry outlining not only her week at school but her findings on possible places Voldemort could have hidden the Horcrux when a knock at her door disturbed her,
"Come in!" The door opened and a girl Hermione recognised as a first year Slytherin peered in anxiously, "Oh, hallo Amber what's up?" Amber wrinkled her nose,
"Malfoy got drunk and then something upset him and now he's smashing up the common room." Sighing Hermione stood up,
"You better take me to him." As Amber scurried away Hermione followed whilst puzzling as to why they had come to inform her, if it had been another house it wouldn't have been unusual but the Slytherin's kept to themselves and solved disputes without bringing in outside help, it was obvious that Amber hadn't decided to fetch Hermione off her own back, somebody had sent her, but who?
That was the life of the Head Girl though, rarely a minutes peace without somebody tapping on her door looking for advice or an unbiased opinion, plus the extra duties involved, she had to patrol more often than any prefect and as Head Girl she had her own keys to the various rooms in Hogwarts and passwords to all of the common rooms. It wasn't an easy job and often was quite thankless, people just didn't seem to realise she had homework as well, with a sigh that blew her fringe about Hermione stopped at the entrance to the Slytherin common room and spoke the password "Draconis major" With a barely audible noise a stone door within the wall slid open and Amber hurriedly opened it, following the young girl inside the room Hermione stopped at the noise and watched opened mouthed as a chair was hurled through the air, it crashed into the wall next to her and she jumped out of the way. "What on Earth is going on?" Hermione murmured avoiding a second chair, in the middle of the room Draco Malfoy stood with his arms spread a bottle of whiskey in one hand and his wand in the other, as the cowering Slytherin's watched in fear he hurled items of furniture in all directions and screamed abuse in a very loud voice. Hermione wasn't sure who he was screaming at or what they had done to deserve it, she wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do about the situation anyway.
"Granger, I'd move out of the way." Looking round Hermione caught a glimpse of Blaise Zabini leant nonchalantly against a wall and moved his way avoiding a mirror as it smashed behind her,
"What is going on?"
"Draco is drunk."
"What?" Blaise smirked,
"Drunk, pissed as a newt, drunk as a skunk, blotto, far gone, well oiled about to vomit all over your charming shoes if you don't watch out." Cringing Hermione edged further away,
"I know what drunk means, what I meant was how did he get this drunk?" Blaise rolled his eyes,
"Well obviously between a select few of us we got him this way, if your referring to his sudden temper well our little Draco has come to certain conclusions and a sudden realisation of his certain demise should he carry his wishes out."
"You mean about his being a Death Eater?" Blaise looked surprised,
"He isn't, but that's irrelevant he's in love and his father won't be too pleased so Draco is letting off a little steam, unfortunately when I suggested he let it all out I didn't think he would go this far."
"Oh. I didn't think he could do that."
"What, wreck the common room, well obviously he can."
"No, I meant fall in love."
"He has a heart." Snorting Hermione pulled out her wand and took a deep breath,
"You could have fooled me, Expelliarmus!" Malfoy's wand flew through the air and Hermione caught it in her free hand,
"Granger, give me back my wand!"
"NO!" With a scream Malfoy charged towards Hermione who pointed her wand at him and shouted, "Petrificus totalus!" Instantly Malfoy froze and fell to the ground where he lay with an expression of loathing on his pale features, "I'm awfully sorry I had to do that but I couldn't just allow you to smash up the common room like this, I think I'm going to have to take points off Slytherin house for your behaviour, I think fifty should do it." Ignoring the shouts of disbelief from the onlookers Hermione turned to Blaise thoughtfully, "Could you be a dear and conjure a stretcher, I think we should take him to Madame Pomfrey for a potion to sober him up and one for the headache he'll have in the morning. I'm leaving the rest of you to tidy up, and one more word of complaint and all involved will be on detention for a month!" Turning she led a flushing Blaise Zabini and a frozen Draco Malfoy out of the common room and to the hospital wing.
End of Chapter One
A/N: This is just an introduction so far to some of the principal players, I really don't have a clue where this story is going to go and right now I'm just letting it meander as it pleases. Umm, let's see, I know in the past I've had trouble with too many commas and too long sentences and this time I hope I've gotten it right, or at least half way right.
Umm, yeah that's about it from me, I'll try to update on a somewhat regular basis but I'm in college studying my AS levels and I have loads of coursework and essays to do not to mention revision, its exhausting so I don't always have time for writing but I'll try my best.
Thanks to my best friend Shane for being my beta reader and hopefully (fingers crossed) kicking my butt into getting the next chapter written.